Klamath River dam politics look good for a change

Good news for fish, thanks to heavy politics involving some strange bedfellows.

There is a deal and a plan to remove the 4 nasty Klamath River dams, the ones that harm water quality and salmon and irrigators and fishermen. Just so we don't forget what's at stake, the photo at right is from the bad old days of the 2003 fish kill. Ugh.

These dams block over 300 miles of prime salmon habitat, and some river advocates are calling this the biggest-ever river restoration project. If the money and politics are any guide, they're right.

The Klamath system could produce a lot of salmon if everything were right with the watershed. The dams are probably the biggest problem, so removal will be a helluva good start on renewing the river, salmon, watershed, and communities.

Hallelujah! There's more work to be done, to be sure, but each milestone of progress is worth celebrating.

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Smokestacks at sea

Last week, an old friend called me to gloat over Governor Schwarzenegger's veto of Senate Bill 974. This friend, who I will call Rutherford, works in the world of shipping. He was delighted that Arnold had apparently taken the advice of his fellow Republican governors -- Linda Lingle and Sarah Palin -- and rejected pollution fees for container ships for the second time. My friend Rutherford agreed with their analysis that even a $30 fee per ship would make U.S. ports less competitive and raise prices for consumers. Fair enough, though I think the weak dollar is a larger problem.

Since I also know many of the people who were down in the trenches alligator wrestling over the bill language for the last four years, I was hard pressed to share Rutherford's glee, though I appreciated the chance to catch up. But now it looks like his ships will be forced to cut their pollution after all, though on a much longer timescale. The International Maritime Organization just approved rules to cut sulfur emissions from ships over the next twelve years. The target is bunker fuel, a dirty beast you may remember from last year's Cosco Busan crash in San Francisco Bay. At the time, there was much debate over whether or not newer, cleaner fuels would have caused as many problems as the Busan's bunker fuel. I guess we'll find out.

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John McCain says fish love oil rigs

Here's John McCain talking about fish. There's some truth to his claim that fish love oil rigs, and it is great to see fish mentioned on the Presidential stage.

But watch the rest of this clip and see a Fox News report on how well the oil infrastructure held up under stormy weather, along with a personal endorsement of the message by a fish at the end.



Hat tip: Effect Measure

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Candidates dropping Republican label

In Washington state, our Republican candidate for Governor lists his party preference as "GOP Party." Check out his website and look for the word "Republican." You won't find it, or at least I couldn't. Who does Dino Rossi think he's fooling?

Voters, I guess, since polling shows 25% of Washington voters don't know what GOP stands for, so it's a safer label than Republican this year.

One of Dino Rossi's ads is amusing: "tonight the Democrats have a nominee, and I agree with him on this: change is needed, but not just in Washington, D.C." Ummm...isn't he forgetting that his party's candidate is McCain?

He's not alone, he and other Republican candidates are dropping the Republican brand and skipping the Republican national convention in order to hide their stripes. He's says he's just too busy to go, but we all know he'd embrace a popular president or presidential candidate if he had one to embrace.

I know Washington is called a blue state, but this is surprising.

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Still time for presidential suggestions

Blogfish is still looking for your suggestions for President McCain/Obama/Barr/Paul/Clinton. We know you've got ideas. Here's another one from us:

The X Prize for the oceans
I'd call it the O prize, but that would require Oprah's support (which isn't a bad idea, come to think of it). The X Prize competitions have inspired engineers and inventors to travel to space and improve automobiles. They are sorely lacking in anything involving saltwater. How about more efficient engines for small fishing boats and big container ships? Remote sensing devices that can count and identify fish without killing them? Or they could take something like Smart gear to the next level. Throw down the gauntlet of prize money and move ocean exploration forward.

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Capitol Hill Oceans Week, oceans in DC

Who cares about that little nomination thing, the real news in DC tonight is oceans on stage in DC.

For one night, we all get to believe that oceans matter on the national stage. Whattya know, that guy on all the TV screens even mentioned oceans in his victory speech. Maybe it's not a dream.

The annual dinner was a gala event, with people who'd rather be underwater pretending to be civilized. All in a good cause, shmoozing with the crowd and honoring the awardees. I got a few new things on my to-do list, from people it's hard to say "no" to. Also, it was loads of fun bumping into a goodly number of friends and colleagues.

A shout out to Mike Sutton for encouraging the incorrigible blogfish, thanks Mike! One thumbs up every 6 months or so is all it takes to make the whole thing seem worthwhile. Mike is clearly the most discerning ocean conservationist in DC this week.

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Protecting people from contaminated seafood

Seafood safety will improve thanks to a US government program announced yesterday by President Bush.

This announcement grows out of the import scandals involving lead-contaminated toys, contaminated pet food, and contaminated feed for farmed fish, etc. Consumer confidence was shaken and action is likely.

The Bush administration has one plan, and Congress has some alternative options in mind, so the final shape of reforms is not yet clear.

One key action seems likely, giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to order mandatory recalls, which is much stronger than the current requirement for voluntary recalls. This should help get unsafe food products off the market quickly when they're identified.

Another important step will be to station US inspectors in foreign countries that export to the US, to look for problems before bad products reach the US.

How bad is the problem? According to ABC News reports, Alabama developed state inspections and now routinely rejects imported seafood that would otherwise reach consumers since US testing programs are currently inadequate. The National Fisheries Institute challenges these claims, and I don't know who's right.

Since we can't even be sure that species labels on fish are accurate, it's hard to believe that everthing's fine in the area of seafood reliability and safety. Some US seafood businesses that compete with imported seafood have testified before Congress regarding lax US inspections of imported seafood, much weaker than European inspection programs. I hope credible seafood businesses work within the industry to provide assurance to consumers that seafood sold in the US is safe to eat.

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1872 Mining law reform: a victory for sustainability

What's the biggest political dinosaur that hinders US conservation? Debatable question, but my nominee is the 1872 Mining Law, and I'm not alone.

Well, that dinosaur is endangered--today your House of Representatives just passed meaningful mining reform. That makes it a good day for oceans, rivers, and lakes, and almost anything natural.

And I hate to be a partisan, but the last election did matter in this long-overdue effort to clean up our environment. Check out the roll call on this vote. Of course, there is a Democratic obstacle in the Senate, from the mining state of Nevada, so it's not purely a partisan issue.

For an excellent balanced review of the 1872 mining law, see this article by Robert McClure and Andrew Schneider of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

For some pro-mining law polemics, try here.

Or for some fun info on the problems with the law, watch this cartoon:

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What's right with Kansas? Plenty

Grabbing the lead on climate change action, Kansas blocked a coal plant permit because of CO2 emissions. This is a stunning move for a state stereotyped as anti-environmental and anti-science because of right-wing Republican tendencies.

The statement from Dept. Secretary Roderick Bremby is fabulous. It says, among other things:

“I believe it would be irresponsible to ignore emerging information about the contribution of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to climate change and the potential harm to our environment and health if we do nothing,"

This is further proof, as if it were needed, that environmental protection is NOT a partisan issue.

There has been considerable talk in the blogosphere lately that religious beliefs are inherently anti-science and in opposition to important science-based causes like education and environmental protection. Much of this has emanated from the battles over the teaching of evolution and intelligent design in places like Kansas. I guess Kansas is not so one-sided as some might claim.

One sidelight, the permit was rejected by the Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment, a progressive alignment of state functions. Protection of our environment is a health issue, and I wish more states acted on that basis.

Go Kansas!

...and it's not just Kansas...

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Republican global warming denial begins to melt

One sad trend in recent years has been the partisan divide on climate change. Seemingly it has become important for Republicans to insist that global warming isn't happening, or isn't caused by people. On the other side of the aisle, Democrats wave the flag over global warming.

The partisan divide on global warming seems to be melting, according to an article in the New York Times. Republican presidential contenders are beginning to acknowledge the reality of human-caused global warming.

One interesting development is a religious flavor to some of the right-wing support for battling climate change (from the NY Times article):

Two candidates appealing to religious conservatives, former Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, call for strong actions to ease the effects of people on the climate, at times casting the effort in spiritual terms just as some evangelical groups have taken up the cause.

Thankfully, the need for action on climate change seems to be losing some of the partisan rancor that has hindered progress. Conservation and environmental protection need not be partisan issues, and here's another demonstration of that important truth.

What's driving this conversion? One comment from the NY Times is that "The issue had been gradually bubbling up among leading Republicans as top corporations, including some in petroleum, have been pushing to address it."

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